Yakko's Fears
by The-Darkness-In-The-Bright
Summary: A look into Yakko's thoughts at the most terrifying moment of his life - from "Wakko's Wish".


_A/N: I don't own Animaniacs. They're the property of Warner Bros. I'm just borrowing them, and their movie, "Wakko's Wish" to write this little piece. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen this movie, and when I did, I cried so much. I miss the 90's…_

Yakko groaned as he pushed himself off the snow with frostbitten fingers. He glanced around him and saw his brother sitting up with a moan of his own. Yakko caught his eye with relief. However, though they were relieved that they were both alright, their immediate thoughts were on…

"NO!" the Warner brothers screamed in horror as they spotted a tiny, still form a little behind them, partly buried in the snow. Without regard for their own aching and freezing bodies, they leapt up and ran over to her, falling to their knees beside her. Her face was contorted in pain, but she was breathing. Barely.

Yakko put his arms around her gently and dragged her up a little to let her head rest on his knee. Wakko looked more terrified than Yakko had ever seen him and his fingers gripped his knees tightly as he knelt on their sister's other side, refusing to touch her for fear of hurting her any more. Behind the barbed wire, they heard gasps from all assembled, but ignored them. She was more important.

"Dot..." Yakko asked softly as she coughed. "Can you hear me?" she opened her beautiful dark brown eyes and smiled faintly at him, lifting a hand to clasp his tightly.

"Tell me the story..." she implored quietly.

"What?" Yakko choked, trying to process what was happening. He and his 'sibs' had been through a lot together, but nothing could have prepared them for losing their youngest sibling or that Yakko, as the eldest, was helpless to do anything to help her.

"The story... about mom and dad... tell me…one last time..." she coughed before smiling at him again, pained but peaceful.

Dot was not cute at this point, Yakko realized, she was heartbreakingly beautiful to the point that he had to fight to get his next words out, "You should rest..." Disregarding his opinion, as she usually did, Dot coughed again before beginning the story herself.

"Once upon a time, a brave knight married a beautiful princess... and they had two sons." Her lilting voice was breathy from the effort it took her. Yakko choked back his sobs of despair, wishing that the brave knight and his bride were there to help wrap their arms around him, his horror-struck younger brother and their dying baby sister and tell them that it was going to be alright.

"But they wanted a daughter, too... so they planted a garden..." As Wakko sniffled back his own tears, Yakko picked up the story, his voice matching the soft tone of his little sister's.

"And out of the prettiest flower came...?" Dot looked up at him with her 'cute' smile, her eyes comforting him as she answered, "Me," with a little cough. Yakko tightened his grip on her slightly, as if he thought it might keep her with him longer, cradling her close to him.

"So then Mom and Dad took you home, and every night at bedtime, they'd come in and ask "Who the cutest girl?" and you'd say..."

" I am." Now her voice sounded perkier, a bittersweet parody of the night before.

"And they'd ask, "How'd you ever get so cute?" and you'd say..." Yakko continued, gathering her even closer to rub her nose tenderly with his own, their childish way of saying "I love you".

Dot coughed again. "I was born that way..."

"And they'd say..."tell us your name?"... and you'd say..." Yakko gulped.

"Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca" Dot's deliberately slow words halted as she coughed. "Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third. But you can call me" she coughed again. "Dot..." she smiled tiredly up at her brother. Now, Yakko could not stop his tears from trailing down his face or his voice tightening with despair.

"And they'd ask..."Can we call you Dottie?" and you'd say..."

"No... " she coughed again. "Just Dot... call me... Dottie… and you..."she raised a hand to poke him in the chest as usual, but was too weak and could only utter one more word,

"die..."

To Yakko's dread, her arm fell to her side and she became limp in his arms, her eyes fluttering closed.

As he realized that destiny, fate or whatever, had been cruel enough to rip another loved one away from him, Yakko Warner let himself sob, bending low to bury his face in his baby sister's hair.

_Not Dot…not her…_

Yakko cried bitterly, unable to understand why Dot, who had barely lived her life, and who could only remember the awful aspects of their lives, had to be the one taken. He didn't know how long he cried over Dot's lifeless body before Dr Scratchensniff's voice was heard above all other noise.

"Look! Eet's Vakko!"

Everyone, Yakko included, turned to see the middle Warner sibling running as fast as he could towards the wishing star. Yakko, still holding Dot close, held his breath as King Salazar ordered his men to stop Wakko before he got too far. Yakko saw the cannon ball fly towards Wakko and prayed with all his heart that he would not have to watch his only other living relative, his _brother_, die too. Just as Wakko leapt for the star, the cannonball just missed him and hit the star just before Wakko did, and both were absorbed into it's glowing light. As Wakko stood, unharmed and triumphant before the spirit of the star, Yakko felt the little body in his arms move and his eyes widened in disbelief as Dot sat up and stated sweetly to all assembled, "I'm feeling better now!" After a split second, Yakko beamed in delight and hugged her close, knowing that the Warners' lives were about to change dramatically for the better.


End file.
